Electrostatic discharge monitoring and manufacturing process control system

ABSTRACT

There are disclosed systems, computer program products, and method for monitoring electrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions and controlling manufacturing processes on an assembly line. In an embodiment, each ESD monitored station in an assembly line is provided with at least one ESD management device (e.g. an ESD monitoring device or ESD protection device). Predetermined ESD fault conditions may be used to automatically stop a manufacturing process at an ESD monitored station. Upon occurrence of an ESD fault condition an ESD fault notification message may be sent identifying the ESD monitored station, the nature of the ESD fault condition, and whether the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored station is stopped. The ESD fault notification message may be sent to a mobile communications device, for example, and the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored device may be controlled based on a reply received from the mobile communications device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of electrostaticdischarge (ESD) monitoring and manufacturing process control systems.

BACKGROUND

Monitoring and controlling electrostatic discharge or ESD is animportant function in electronics manufacturing, since uncontrolleddischarge may seriously damage ESD-sensitive components. Damage oftenoccurs at a microscopic level, such that the actual damage to acomponent may only be discovered in testing after manufacture, or afterpremature failure experienced by an end user.

Various ESD management devices, such as ESD monitoring devices and ESDprotection devices, are available to help manage the risk of ESD duringmanufacturing and assembly of sensitive electronic components anddevices. For example, an ESD monitoring device may monitor environmentalconditions such as temperature and humidity, and may trigger an alarm ifthese conditions fall outside a preferred operating range. An ESDprotection device may include, for example, an ionization bar forneutralizing static charge in the vicinity of an electronics assemblystation. Another example of an ESD protection device is a wrist strapthat may be used for electrically grounding an operator who may touchsensitive electronic components and devices during assembly.

Despite available ESD management devices, a manufacturing process maystill produce faulty or damaged products if the ESD risk is noteffectively managed at every station along an assembly line. Whileexisting ESD monitoring devices and ESD protection devices may bedesigned to individually provide appropriate warnings, these warningsmay not be properly acted upon unless they are quickly brought to theattention of appropriate personnel such as an ESD specialist. This mayresult in significant delays in recognizing critical ESD problems andstopping ESD damage to electronic components and printed circuit board(PCB) assemblies. Often, the damage is irreparable, and an entire batchof products may have to be scrapped for quality control purposes, atsignificant cost. Thus, improved systems and methods are needed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, in an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofmonitoring electrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions andcontrolling a manufacturing process on an assembly line, comprising:providing at each ESD monitored station in the assembly line at leastone ESD management device; monitoring each ESD management device for anoccurrence of at least one ESD fault condition; upon occurrence of atleast one ESD fault condition at an ESD monitored station, determiningbased on predetermined criteria whether the manufacturing process at theESD monitored station should be stopped; and wirelessly sending anotification of the at least one ESD fault condition, the notificationindicating whether the manufacturing process at the ESD monitoredstation is stopped.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises sending the notificationto a mobile communications device.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises identifying in thenotification the ESD monitored station and the nature of the ESD faultcondition.

In yet another embodiment, the method further comprises providing in thenotification a control action that may be taken by reply to thenotification.

In still another embodiment, the method further comprises controllingthe manufacturing process at the ESD monitored station based on thereply to the notification.

In another embodiment, the notification is an email message, and themethod further comprises controlling the manufacturing process at theESD monitored station based on a reply to the email message.

In another embodiment, the notification is an input to an applicationrunning on the mobile communications device, and the method furthercomprises controlling the manufacturing process at the ESD monitoredstation based on a control action reply output from the application.

In still another embodiment, the method further comprises controllingthe manufacturing process at the ESD monitored station in response to acontrol action reply from a webpage accessible via a web browserapplication provided on the mobile communications device.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system formonitoring electrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions andcontrolling a manufacturing process on an assembly line, the systemadapted to: provide at each ESD monitored station in the assembly lineat least one ESD management device; monitor each ESD management devicefor an occurrence of at least one ESD fault condition; upon occurrenceof at least one ESD fault condition at an ESD monitored station,determine based on predetermined criteria whether the manufacturingprocess at the ESD monitored station should be stopped; and wirelesslysend a notification of the at least one ESD fault condition, thenotification indicating whether the manufacturing process at the ESDmonitored station is stopped.

In an embodiment, the system is further adapted to send the notificationto a mobile communications device.

In another embodiment, the system is further adapted to identify in thenotification the ESD monitored station and the nature of the ESD faultcondition.

In yet another embodiment, the system is further adapted to provide inthe notification a control action that may be taken by reply to thenotification.

In another embodiment, the system is further adapted to control themanufacturing process at the ESD monitored station based on the reply tothe notification.

In still another embodiment, the notification is an email message, andthe system is further adapted to control the manufacturing process atthe ESD monitored station based on a reply to the email message.

In another embodiment, the notification is an input to an applicationrunning on the mobile communications device, and the system is furtheradapted to control the manufacturing process at the ESD monitoredstation based on a control action reply output from the application.

In yet another embodiment, the system is further adapted to control themanufacturing process at the ESD monitored station in response to acontrol action reply from a webpage accessible via a web browserapplication provided on the mobile communications device.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer programproduct comprising a computer readable medium storing computer code thatwhen loaded into a computing device adapts the device to monitoringelectrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions and control amanufacturing process on an assembly line, the computer readable mediumincluding: code for monitoring each ESD management device at an ESDmonitored station for an occurrence of at least one ESD fault condition;code for determining based on predetermined criteria whether themanufacturing process at the ESD monitored station should be stoppedupon occurrence of at least one ESD fault condition at an ESD monitoredstation; and code for wirelessly sending a notification of the at leastone ESD fault condition, the notification indicating whether themanufacturing process at the ESD monitored station is stopped.

In an embodiment, the computer readable medium further includes code forsending the notification to a mobile communications device.

In another embodiment, the computer readable medium further includescode for identifying in the notification the ESD monitored station andthe nature of the ESD fault condition.

In yet another embodiment, the computer readable medium further includescode for providing in the notification a control action that may betaken by reply to the notification.

In still another embodiment, the computer readable medium furtherincludes code for controlling the manufacturing process at the ESDmonitored station based on the reply to the notification.

In another embodiment, the notification is an email message, and thecomputer readable medium further includes further includes code forcontrolling the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored station basedon a reply to the email message.

In another embodiment, the notification is an input to an applicationrunning on the mobile communications device, and the computer readablemedium further includes code for controlling the manufacturing processat the ESD monitored station based on a control action reply output fromthe application.

In still another embodiment, the computer readable medium furtherincludes code for controlling the manufacturing process at the ESDmonitored station in response to a control action reply from a webpageaccessible via a web browser application provided on the mobilecommunications device.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system formonitoring electrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions andcontrolling manufacturing processes on an assembly line, comprising: atleast one ESD management device at each ESD monitored station in theassembly line, each ESD management device including means for indicatingan ESD fault condition; an ESD control server operatively connected toeach ESD management device, the ESD control server including necessarysoftware drivers and monitoring software to integrate ESD devices from aplurality of vendors; means for monitoring an occurrence of at least oneESD fault condition; and means for determining based on thepredetermined ESD fault conditions whether to stop the manufacturingprocess at an ESD monitored station having at least one ESD faultcondition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a generic data processing systemthat may provide a suitable operating environment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an ESD monitoring andmanufacturing process control system in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative ESD monitoredstation that may be found in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of an illustrative screen associated withthe ESD monitored station of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a schematic block diagram of another illustrative ESDmonitored station that may be found in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an illustrative screen associated withthe ESD monitored station of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is an illustrative graph of an ESD monitor that may measurerelative humidity in the vicinity of an ESD monitored station;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of an illustrative screen associated withthe ESD monitor of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of an illustrative screen that maydisplay a warning message at a mobile communications device;

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of details of the warning messagereceived at the mobile communications device;

FIGS. 7A and 7B show flowcharts of an illustrative method in accordancewith an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted above, the present invention relates to systems, computerprogram products, and methods for monitoring ESD and for controllingmanufacturing processes.

The invention may be practiced in various embodiments. A suitablyconfigured data processing system, and associated communicationsnetworks, devices, software and firmware may provide a platform forenabling one or more of the systems, computer program products, andmethods.

By way of example, FIG. 1 shows a generic data processing system 100that may include a central processing unit (“CPU”) 102 connected to astorage unit 104 and to a random access memory 106. The CPU 102 mayprocess an operating system 101, application program 103, and data 123.The operating system 101, application program 103, and data 123 may bestored in storage unit 104 and loaded into memory 106, as may berequired. An operator 107 may interact with the data processing system100 using a video display 108 connected by a video interface 105, andvarious input/output devices such as a keyboard 110, mouse 112, and diskdrive 114 connected by an I/O interface 109. In known manner, the mouse112 may be configured to control movement of a cursor in the videodisplay 108, and to operate various graphical user interface (“GUI”)controls appearing in the video display 108 with a mouse button. Thedisk drive 114 may be configured to accept data processing systemreadable media 116. The data processing system 100 may form part of anetwork via a network interface 111, allowing the data processing system100 to communicate with other suitably configured data processingsystems (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an ESD monitoring andmanufacturing process control system 200 (hereinafter referred to as the“ESD control system” 200) in accordance with an embodiment. As shown inFIG. 2, an ESD monitoring and manufacturing process control server 202(hereinafter referred to as the “ESD control server” 202) may beconfigured to be in communication with various ESD monitoring devicesand ESD protection devices located at each of a plurality of ESDmonitored stations 204 a-204 f within an assembly line. ESD controlserver 202 may be embodied, for example, in a suitably configured dataprocessing system such as data processing system 100 of FIG. 1. ESDcontrol server 202 may be configured to run various application programsand software drivers to communicate with various peripheral devices.

In an embodiment, the ESD management devices (including ESD monitoringdevices and ESD protection devices) provided at each station 204 a-204 fmay be connected to a client communications node located at each station(e.g. see FIG. 3A, below). This client communications node may beconfigured to communicate with ESD control server 202 via commoncommunication protocols such as Ethernet over a cable network, or via“WiFi” (IEEE 802.11) over a pair of wireless network transceivers 205 a,205 b as shown by example for station 204 b. It will be appreciated thatthe use of wireless protocols may eliminate the need for extensivecabling from each station 204 a-204 f to ESD control server 202.However, a reliable wireless link may not be possible in areas with highelectromagnetic shielding and radio frequency interference.

ESD control server 202 may include an intelligent interface includingnecessary software drivers and monitoring software that allowintegration of various ESD management devices, possibly from multiplevendors. Each ESD management device may include means for indicating anESD fault condition, such as an alarm or a signal.

ESD control server 202 may be configured to monitor the status of eachpiece of ESD equipment from the plurality of ESD monitored station 204a-204 f in an assembly line for an ESD fault condition. In the event ofan alarm or signal of an ESD fault condition received from any one ofthe ESD monitored stations 204 a-204 f, ESD control server 202 may beconfigured for example to stop the entire assembly line, or to stop acritical manufacturing process at one of the stations 204 a-204 f in theassembly line. This stoppage may occur, for example, by shutting down adata entry screen or an assembly tool at an affected station, or bystopping a conveyor transporting work pieces between stations.

As will be further explained below, ESD control server 202 is intendedto be a real-time monitor that can be tailored to meet the needs of anESD control program for virtually any electronics assembly line. Aswell, collection of ESD data at ESD control server 202 may permittraditional statistical analysis techniques to be used in identifyingproblem stations or operators within an assembly line.

As shown in FIG. 2, ESD control server 202 and ESD monitored stations204 a-204 f may form a local area network (LAN) within a manufacturingfacility. However, in an embodiment, ESD control server 202 may beoperatively connected to a communications server 206 that may beconfigured to manage communications over a wide area network (WAN) 208to/from a mobile communications device 210. A mobile data communicationdevice and corresponding host system acting as a communications serveris described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,378 issued to Gilhulyet al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,464 issued to Lazaridis et al., whichare both incorporated by reference herein.

Now referring to FIG. 3A, shown is a schematic block diagram of anillustrative ESD monitored station (e.g. station 204 a) that may befound in FIG. 2. By way of example, station 204 a (labelledillustratively as “Station SMT1”) may be a standalone station at which ahuman operator works with a PCB work piece 302 arriving via conveyor303. Station 204 a may include an electrically grounded ESD table 304and an ionization bar 306 to neutralize static charge caused by machinemodel (MM) and charge device model (CDM) type ESD events. Station 204 amay further include a wrist strap 308 to be worn by the human operatorto protect electronic components from human body model (HBM) type ESDevents. Once the human operator has completed work on PCB work piece302, he may place the work piece on another conveyor 310 to the nextstation in the assembly line.

As shown in FIG. 3A, each of ESD table 304, ionization bar 306, andwrist strap 308 may be operatively connected to a client communicationsnode 311. Client communications node 311 may be configured to allowcommunications between each of ESD table 304, ionization bar 306, andwrist strap 308, and the ESD control server 202 of FIG. 2. Clientcommunications node 311 may also be operatively connected to motorcontrollers controlling conveyors 303, 310 to stop or restart one orboth of conveyors 303, 310, and thus effectively control the process atstation 204 a during an ESD fault condition at station 204 a.

Now referring to FIG. 3B, shown is a schematic diagram of anillustrative screen 300B associated with station 204 a of FIG. 3A thatmay be shown, for example, at ESD control server 202. By way of example,screen 300B may include an indication of a station location 312 and theESD risk level 314 at the station. In this example, the ESD risk levelat Station SMT1 is deemed to be high.

Screen 300B may further include information on the monitored ESD systems316, 318, 320, which in this example includes the ESD table, wriststrap, and ionization bar. Each of these monitored systems 316, 318, 320may have a user selectable option of stopping the process at location312 upon certain predetermined criteria, such as a failure indicationreceived from any one of the monitored systems 316, 318, 320. In thisexample, a fault indication or failure of any one of the monitoredsystems 316, 318, 320 will result in the process at station 204 a beingstopped.

In addition, screen 300B may include a user selectable option forreporting the failure message to appropriate personnel (e.g. an ESDspecialist), and for locking out the operator at station 204 a fromperforming further assembly work until the ESD fault condition isinvestigated by the ESD specialist (e.g. by stopping one or both ofconveyors 303 and 310).

Now referring to FIG. 4A, shown is a schematic block diagram of anotherillustrative ESD monitored station (e.g. station 204 b) that may befound in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4A, station 204 b may include an ESDtable 304, and a wrist strap monitor 308. Station 204 b may be anotherstandalone station at which a human operator works with a work piece 402arriving via conveyor 403, and upon completion of his task places thework piece on another conveyor 404 to the next station. Station 204 b isconfigured with a wireless transceiver 205 a in order to communicatewirelessly with ESD control server 202.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an illustrative screen 400B associatedwith station 204 b of FIG. 4A that may be shown, for example, at ESDcontrol server 202 (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 4B, screen 400B mayinclude an indication of the station location 412 and the ESD risk level414 at the station. In this example, the ESD risk level at “StationConfig Pack1” is deemed to be low.

Screen 400B may further include information on the monitored systems416, 418. Here, the monitored systems include an ESD table, and a wriststrap monitor. Predetermined criteria may specify that failure of eitherof the monitored systems 416, 418 may prompt a warning, as selectable bya user.

Screen 400B may also provide various user selectable options 420, 422,424 for establishing predetermined criteria for stopping the process atlocation 412 upon a failure indication received from one of, or both ofthe monitored systems 416, 418. In this example, the failure of only oneof monitored system 416 or 418 does not result in a process stop atlocation 412. However, failure of both monitored systems 416 and 418 isdeemed to be serious enough to stop the process at location 412 (e.g. bystopping one or both of conveyors 403, 404) until the ESD faultcondition is investigated and resolved by an ESD specialist.

Screen 400B may further include user selectable options for reportingthe warnings or failure messages to appropriate personnel (e.g. the ESDspecialist), and for locking out the operator at location 412 fromperforming further work until the ESD fault condition is investigated bythe ESD specialist.

Now referring to FIG. 5A, shown is an illustrative graph 500A from anESD monitor that may measure relative humidity in the vicinity of astation. As shown in FIG. 5A, certain limits may be set to define anoperating range for relative humidity at a given station. For example,an upper limit 502 may be set at 60% relative humidity. An upper limitwarning 504 may be set at 55% relative humidity. A corresponding lowerlimit warning 508 may be set at 35% relative humidity, and a lower limit510 may be set at 30% relative humidity. It will be appreciated that thelimits provided here are for illustrative purposes only.

Still referring to FIG. 5A, the measured relative humidity 506 at agiven station may be tracked over time. As long as the relative humidity506 is within a normal operating range, the process or task at thestation being monitored may continue.

Now referring to FIG. 5B, shown is a schematic diagram of anillustrative screen 500B associated with the station shown in graph 500Aof FIG. 5A. Screen 500B may include an indication of the stationlocation 512 and the ESD risk level 514 at the station. In this example,the ESD risk level at “Station SMT5” is deemed to be high.

Screen 500B may also provide at 516 an indication of the limits of therange for the humidity sensor. These limits may be configured to beselectable by a user if appropriate.

Screen 500B may further provide user selectable options 518, 520, 522for stopping the process at location 512. By way of example, if therelative humidity reaches the upper limit of 60% or the lower limit of30%, the process at location 512 may be stopped. Alternatively, theprocess at location 512 may also be stopped by remote control, asindicated at 522. This will be explained in further detail with respectto FIGS. 6A and 6B, below.

Screen 500B may also show various user selectable options 524, 526, 528for reporting warnings or fault indications, and for locking out theoperator at Station SMT5. In this example, messages are sent toappropriate personnel (e.g. the ESD specialist) upon a failure or awarning, and the station is also locked out until the ESD faultcondition can be investigated.

Now referring to FIG. 6A, shown is a schematic diagram of anillustrative screen that may be displayed at the mobile communicationsdevice of FIG. 2. For example, if Station SMT5 described in FIGS. 5A and5B has reached a lower limit warning level of 35% relative humidity, ESDcontrol server 202 may be configured to initiate an email notificationas shown at 602. The email notification from Station SMT1 may be in asimilar format as other email messages 604, 606 received at mobilecommunications device 210.

Now referring to FIG. 6B, shown is an illustrative content of thewarning message 600B received at the mobile communications device ofFIG. 2. By way of example, the message 600B may include an indication ofthe appropriate personnel 612, 614 to whom the message was sent orcopied, the date and time 615 of the warning, the station 616 at whichthe warning originated, and the subject line 618 indicating the natureof the warning.

Message 600B may provide further details 620 on the warning condition,and also suggest at 622 a course of action for responding to the warningcondition. In an embodiment the recipient of this warning message 600Bmay, for example, manually stop the process at Station SMT5 by simplyreplying to the email message. ESD control server 202 may bepreconfigured to initiate a stop in the process at Station SMT5 uponreceipt of the email reply, and to lockout the operator at Station SMT5until the ESD condition is investigated. Various other means for remotecontrol may include, for example, an application program running on themobile communications device 210 that may generate a particular controlsignal that may be communicated directly or via ESD control server 202to stop the process at Station SMT5. Alternatively, mobilecommunications device 210 may be configured to access an Internetwebpage via a suitably configured Internet browser application runningon the device 210. Stopping the process may be controlled, for example,by selecting options or entering suitable commands via the remotelyaccessed website.

In another embodiment, if an ESD specialist has received a messageindicating that a process at a station has been stopped due to an ESDfault condition, the ESD specialist may decide to investigate, forexample, by contacting the operator at the station. If afterinvestigation it is determined that the process can continue (e.g. theESD specialist has reminded the operator to wear his wrist bandproperly), the ESD specialist may be given an option to remotely restarta stopped process via the mobile communications device 210 (e.g. byreplying to the message).

As will be appreciated, the constant monitoring of ESD conditions at theplurality of ESD monitored stations 204 a-204 f via ESD control server202 may quickly bring to a stop a critical manufacturing process untilthe ESD fault condition can be investigated and brought back undercontrol. As well, immediate notification of appropriate personnel viaemail notification to a mobile communications device, for example, mayprovide additional oversight and flexibility in managing the ESD faultconditions depending on severity and depending on the results of aninvestigation by the ESD specialist. This ESD monitoring and control ofan assembly line may provide significant improvements in reduction ofESD damaged products.

Now referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, shown are flowcharts of anillustrative method in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG.7A, method 700A begins at block 702A where, at the ESD control server202, method 700A looks for an ESD fault condition reported by any one ofthe ESD monitored stations 204 a-204 f. If at decision block 704A theanswer is no, method 700A loops back to block 702A. If the answer isyes, method 700A proceeds to decision block 706A, where method 700Adetermines if the severity of the ESD fault condition calls for anautomatic stopping of the process at the station. If the answer is yes,method 700A proceeds to block 708A where the process at the station withthe ESD fault is stopped (e.g. by stopping a conveyor, preventing dataentry, disabling a tool, etc.). Method 700A then proceeds to block 710A.If the answer at decision block 706A is no, method 700A proceeds toblock 710A directly.

At block 710A, method 700A sends an ESD fault notification message tomobile communications device 210. Method 700A then waits for a replyfrom the mobile communications device 210. If at decision block 712A areply is received to stop a process at a station (assuming that theprocess at the station is not already stopped), then method 700Aproceeds to block 714A to stop the process at the station with the ESDfault condition. Alternatively, if at decision block 716A a reply isreceived to restart a process at a station (assuming that the process atthe station is stopped), then method 700A proceeds to block 718A torestart the process at the station. Method 700A then ends.

As shown in FIG. 7B, method 700B begins at block 702B at which an ESDfault notification message is received at the mobile communicationsdevice 210. If at decision block 704B the message received is an ESDwarning, and the ESD specialist decides to stop the process, method 700Bproceeds to block 706B where method 700B sends a reply to stop theprocess at the station with the ESD fault notification. Alternatively,if at decision block 708B the message received indicates that a processat a station has been automatically stopped, and the ESD specialistdecides to restart the process, then method 700B may proceed to block710B where method 700B sends a reply to restart the process at thestation.

It will be appreciated that the methods described with reference toFIGS. 7A and 7B are merely illustrative, and various other methods maybe used to stop or restart a process at a station with an ESD faultcondition. For example, instead of sending a reply message to an ESDfault condition notification, the ESD specialist may access an Internetwebpage via a web browser application provided on the mobilecommunications device to access control action functions (e.g. start orstop) for each ESD monitored station. Alternatively, an application maybe suitably configured to run on the mobile communications device toreceive notification of an ESD fault condition as an input, and to senda control action output reply to remotely control start and stopfunctions for various ESD monitored stations.

1. A method of monitoring electrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditionsand controlling a manufacturing process on an assembly line, comprising:providing at each ESD monitored station in the assembly line at leastone ESD management device; monitoring each ESD management device for anoccurrence of at least one ESD fault condition; upon occurrence of atleast one ESD fault condition at an ESD monitored station, determiningbased on predetermined criteria whether the manufacturing process at theESD monitored station should be stopped; sending a notification of theat least one ESD fault condition to a mobile communication device, thenotification indicating whether the manufacturing process at the ESDmonitored station is stopped; and providing in the notification acontrol action that may be taken by reply to the notification.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising controlling the manufacturingprocess at the ESD monitored station based on the reply to thenotification.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is anemail message, and the method further comprises controlling themanufacturing process at the ESD monitored station based on a reply tothe email message.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification isan input to an application running on the mobile communications device,and the method further comprises controlling the manufacturing processat the ESD monitored station based on a control action reply output fromthe application.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingidentifying in the notification the ESD monitored station and the natureof the ESD fault condition.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprisingcontrolling the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored station inresponse to a control action reply from a webpage accessible via a webbrowser application provided on the mobile communications device.
 7. Asystem for monitoring electrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions andcontrolling a manufacturing process on an assembly line, the systemcomprising computing means and storing means adapted to: provide at eachESD monitored station in the assembly line at least one ESD managementdevice; monitor each ESD management device for an occurrence of at leastone ESD fault condition; upon occurrence of at least one ESD faultcondition at an ESD monitored station, determine based on predeterminedcriteria whether the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored stationshould be stopped; send a notification of the at least one ESD faultcondition to a mobile communication device, the notification indicatingwhether the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored station isstopped; and provide in the notification a control action that may betaken by reply to the notification.
 8. The system of claim 7, whereinthe system is further adapted to control the manufacturing process atthe ESD monitored station based on the reply to the notification.
 9. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the notification is an email message, and thesystem is further adapted to control the manufacturing process at theESD monitored station based on a reply to the email message.
 10. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the notification is an input to anapplication running on the mobile communications device, and the systemis further adapted to control the manufacturing process at the ESDmonitored station based on a control action reply output from theapplication.
 11. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is furtheradapted to identify in the notification the ESD monitored station andthe nature of the ESD fault condition.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the system is further adapted to control the manufacturingprocess at the ESD monitored station in response to a control actionreply from a webpage accessible via a web browser application providedon the mobile communications device.
 13. A computer program productcomprising a computer readable medium storing computer code that whenloaded into a computing device adapts the device to monitoringelectrostatic discharge (ESD) fault conditions and control amanufacturing process on an assembly line, the computer readable mediumincluding: code for monitoring each ESD management device at an ESDmonitored station in the assembly line for an occurrence of at least oneESD fault condition; code for determining based on predeterminedcriteria whether the manufacturing process at the ESD monitored stationshould be stopped upon occurrence of at least one ESD fault condition atan ESD monitored station; code for sending a notification of the atleast one ESD fault condition to a mobile communication device, thenotification indicating whether the manufacturing process at the ESDmonitored station is stopped; and code for providing in the notificationa control action that may be taken by reply to the notification.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, wherein the computer readablemedium further includes code for controlling the manufacturing processat the ESD monitored station based on the reply to the notification. 15.The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the computer readablemedium further includes code for identifying in the notification the ESDmonitored station and the nature of the ESD fault condition.